Bread slicing machine



May 30,1939. H1 1; CRINER BREAD 'SLICING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1938 ATTORNEYS Patented May 30, 1939 BREAD SLICING MACHINE Harry J. Criner, Davenport, Iowa, assignor of one-half to A. G. Bush, Davenport, Iowa Application February 16, 1938, Serial No. 190,765

9 Claims. (01. 146-153) for successively extending or retracting the spac' ing of a plurality of members mounted in series to predetermined limits.

I accomplish these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a blade-carrying frame;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of a supporting frame carrying my apparatus;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line l -4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail showing a pair of rollers with connecting link and with the shafts in section;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail showing a square shank formed upon the shaft;

Figure 'lis an enlarged detail plan view of one of the shafts with the rollers mounted thereon;

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail showing an alternative form'of shaft with square carrying-blocks in place of rollers;

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail showing the shafts projecting through the front wall of the supporting frame.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several views.

My supporting means may comprise an upper supporting member I and a lower supporting member i united by side bars 2 and 3. The supporting members are similarly formed and the description of the supporting member I will apply to the supporting member 4.

The supporting member I comprises preferably a rectangular, tubular crossbar having the inside thereof carefully machined out to form a slideway in which the movable spacing members may be adjustably mounted for either sliding or rolling longitudinal travel therein and with a longitudinal groove 1 extending'lengthwise thereof at the similar parts apart far enough to permit thin links I3 to be 10 mounted upon the shafts between them. The links I3 are provided at opposite ends with elliptical openings I50, extending longitudinally thereof, the ends of which openings correspond in curvature to the curvature of the portion I5 of .15 the shaftl'l which extends through the rollers,

and the sides of said openings being parallel between such curved portions.

A block I9 is slidably mounted in the crossbar I near one end thereof and a link 2! has one end secured to said block by a pin 2| and its opposite end is provided with an opening Zla which encircles the nearest shaft I5. This opening 2Ia is of the same shape as the openings I5a.

Links I3 connect the successive shaft I5 in pairs and the shape of the openings I5a permits movement of the links within the limits of such openings.

Figure 3 shows the various shafts retracted and Figure 5 shows them extended to their limits of travel.

The shaft at the end of the series opposite the block 2| is rigidly united to the crossbar I by being extended through the crossbar as shown at Ila in Figures 1 and 9, so that this shaft is at; 5

all times stationary.

The block I9 is provided with a head 26 by which it may be manually moved longitudinally of the crossbar, the head 26 being connected to the block I9 by a neck 21' which is free to slide in a groove 9 formed in the upper face of the member I.

In Figure 3 I have shown the head 26 retracted to its furthermost position and in Figure 2 I have shown the head 26 and the various shafts I1;

two different gauges or thicknesses of the slices.;

For this purpose, the links, shafts I5 and open-' ings I5a may be so proportioned that when extended or expanded to their utmost limit, the slots IT in the shaft I'I will be a half inch apart,

and when retracted to their closest approach, will The shaft Il may have a 5 be three-eighths of an inch apart, providing a variance of one-eighth of an inch.

If other thicknesses are desired, additional assemblies may be formed to provide maximum and minimum spacings of one-eighth of an inch and one-half an inch or of three-eighths of an inch and one-quarter inch, or with any desired variation, and such assemblies may be substituted by merely withdrawing the shaft carrying the extended ends IIa sufficiently to clear the front wall of the crossbar and the entire asembly may then be slid out of the crossbar I and a new assembly having the desired spacing inserted there- The plates Ilb and rollers H and I I are formed with flat faces which fit closely the interior of the bore of the crossbar I but with sufiicient play to permit longitudinal movement thereof upon the application of a moderate degree of traction.

The lower crossbars are similarly formed and the lower assemblies correspond to the upper onesin every way.

The outer ends of the shafts I1 and I8 are provided with slots I'I' through which the ends of the blades 24 may pass and to which they may be secured by pins 23 and compression springs 25 may be mounted upon one or both ends of the blades 24 to provide a constant tension upon the blades as desired.

In order to reduce wear, the adjusting members may be formed with rectangular blocks IIb mounted upon the shafts II in place of the rollers II and II, and the outer ends of the shaft Il may be circular as shown in the Figures 4 and '7, or they may be square as shown in Figures 6 and 8.

When desired, the shaft Il may be provided with slots IT as shown in Figures 6 and '7, which may be utilized merely as guides to assist in turning and to guide the blades of a band-blade machine, and the crossbars I and 4 may be united to the frame of the machine by any desired method.

In the case of reciprocating machines, the frames comprising the crossbars I and 4 and the side bars 2 and 3 may be mounted for reciprocation in the frame of the machine or they may be mounted in a separate reciprocating carrier frame as shown in my co-pending applications Serial Nos. 188,701 and 170,027 and I do not limit my claims in this application to any particular form of reciprocating frame nor to any particular type of slicing machine.

In the operation of my macchine, the upper and lower spacing assemblies are mounted in the tubular crossbars I and 4 with the extended shaft of one of the members rigidly secured in the crossbar and with the block I9 slidably mounted in a crossbar at the other end thereof.

The successive shafts I5 are then united by the links I3 in alternating pairs. If desired to gauge the blades 24 for narrower slices, the spacing members are assembled in their retracted position as shown in Figure 2. The frame is then inserted in the carrier frame or placed in proper position in the slicing machine, and the bread conducted to the cutting edges of the blades by any of the means in common use which are well known in the art.

When desired to widen the spacing so as to cut thicker slices of bread, the heads 26 and 21 are drawn out so that the links 2I act upon the adjacent shaft drawing it to the left, as shown in Figure 3, and the links thereupon successively act upon the respective shafts and draw the spacing members to their expanded position as shown in Figure 3.

It is obvious that while the variation in distance between any two successive shafts will only be one-eighth of an inch, yet the travel of the heads 26 and 21 will be one-eighth of an inch multiplied by the number of spaces between the blades.

Many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not limit my claims to the precise form of parts shown in the drawing.

I claim:

1. In a bread slicing machine of the multiplebladed type, a frame comprising a pair of spaced tubular crossbars with side bars uniting same, adjustable blade spacing assemblies removably secured in the crossbars respectively, each assembly comprising a plurality of spaced shafts, each shaft having rollers revolvably mounted thereon to travel within its respective crossbar, one terminal member of the assembly being rigidly secured to the crossbar and the opposite terminal member being united to a block slidably mounted in said crossbar, links uniting the adjacent shafts in pairs and a link connecting the sliding block with the shaft nearest thereto, the links connecting the shafts being provided with elongated openings through which the shafts pass to permit a limited movement of the shafts longitudinally of the links, extensions formed integral with the shafts and projecting outwardly from the crossbars and having slots to space the cutting blades.

2. In a bread slicing machine of the multiplebladed type, a frame comprising a pair of spaced tubular cross bars with side bars uniting same, adjustable blade spacing assemblies removably secured in the crossbars respectively, each assembly comprising a plurality of spaced shafts, each shaft having rollers revolvably mounted thereon to travel within its respective crossbar, one terminal member of the assembly being rigidly secured to the crossbar and the opposite terminal member being united to a block slidably mounted in said crossbar and a head projecting from the block upwardly above said crossbar for manually moving the block, links uniting the adjacent shafts in pairs and a link connecting the sliding block to the shaft nearest thereto, the links connecting the shafts being provided with elongated openings through which the shafts pass to permit a limited movement of the shafts longitudinally of the links, extensions formed integral with the shafts and projecting outwardly from the crossbars and having slots to space the cutting blades.

3. In a bread slicing machine of the multiplebladed type, a frame comprising a pair of spaced crossbars formed with tubular slideways therein, side bars uniting the crossbars, adjustable blade spacing assemblies removably secured in the slideways respectively and slidable therein, each assembly comprising a series of spaced shafts, having heads mounted thereon to travel within the respective crossbar, one terminal member of each series being rigidly secured to its crossbar and the opposite terminal member being united to a block slidably mounted in said crossbar, links uniting the adjacent shafts in pairs and a link connecting the sliding block to the shaft nearest thereto, the links connecting the shafts being provided with elongated openings through which the shafts pass to permit a limited movement of the links relative to the shafts, extensions formed integral with the shafts projecting outwardly from the crossbars and having slots to space the cutting blades.

4. In a bread slicing machine of the multiplebladed type, a frame comprising a pair of spaced crossbars formed with tubular slideways therein, side bars uniting the crossbars, adjustable blade spacing assemblies removably secured in the slideways respectively and slidable therein, each assembly comprising a series of spaced shafts, having heads mounted thereon to travel within the respective crossbar, one terminal member of each series being rigidly secured to its crossbar and the opposite terminal member being united to a block slidably mounted in said crossbar and a head projecting from the block upwardly above said crossbar for manually moving the block, links uniting the adjacent shafts in pairs and a link connecting the sliding block to the shaft nearest thereto, the links connecting the shafts being provided with elongated openings through which the shafts pass to permit a limited movement of the links relative to the shafts, extensions formed integral with the shafts and projecting outwardly from the crossbars and having slots to space the cutting blades.

5. In a bread slicing machine of the multiplebladed type, the combination of a frame comprising a pair of spaced tubular crossbars with side bars uniting same, adjustable blade spacing assemblies removably secured in the crossbars respectively, each assembly comprising a plurality of spaced shafts, each shaft having a pair of rollers revolvably mounted thereon to travel within its respective crossbar, one terminal member of the assembly being. rigidly secured to the crossbar and the opposite terminal member being united to a block slidably mounted in said crossbar with a head projecting upwardly above said crossbar for manual movement thereof, links uniting the adjacent shafts in pairs and a link connecting the sliding block to the shaft nearest thereto, the links connecting the shafts being provided with elongated openings through which the shafts pass to permit a limited movement of the shafts longitudinally of the links, extensions formed integral with the shafts and projecting outward from the crossbars and having slots to space the cutting blades, and means for successively moving said shafts and rollers to contract or expand the spacing thereof.

6. A mechanical movement comprising a tubular support having a slideway machined therein and a longitudinal slot formed in one side thereof, a plurality of spacing members mounted in series for longitudinal travel within the tubular crossbar, each comprising a pair of flat plates closely fitting the bore of said tubular crossbar but readily movable therein and a transverse shaft uniting the plates of the respective pairs, links embracing and connecting adjacent shafts in pairs each link being provided with elongated openings surrounding the shafts to permit limited travel of the shafts longitudinally of the links, one terminal member of the series being rigidly united to the support and the opposite terminal member having its shaft connected by a link to a block slidably mounted within the support and means united to the block for manually adjusting the relative position of the spacing members successively within the limits of travel permitted by the links in either direction.

7. A mechanical movement comprising a tubular supporting means having spaced slideways machined therein and longitudinal slots formed in one side thereof, spaced series of spacing members mounted in series for longitudinal travel within the tubular supporting means each comprising a pair of circular flat plates closely fitting the bore of said tubular crossbar but readily rollable therein and a transverse shaft uniting said plates, links embracing and connecting adjacent shafts in pairs each link being provided with elongated openings surrounding the shafts to permit limited travel of the shafts longitudinally of the links, one terminal member of each series being rigidly united to the support and the opposite terminal member having its shaft connected by a link to a block slidably mounted within the support, and means united to the block for manually adjusting the relative position of the spacing members succesively within the limits of travel permitted by the links in either direction.

8. A mechanical movement comprising a tubular supporting crossbar having a slideway machined therein and a longitudinal slot formed in one side thereof, a plurality of spacing members mounted in series for longitudinal travel within the tubular crossbar, each comprising a pair of circular plates closely fitting the bore of said tubular crossbar but readily'rollable therein and a transverse shaft uniting said plates, links embracing and connecting adjacent shafts in pairs each link being provided with elongated openings surrounding the shafts to permit limited travel of the shafts longitudinally of the links, one terminal member of the series being rigidly united to the tubular crossbar and the opposite terminal member having its shaft connected with a link to a block slidably mounted within the crossbar and means united to the crossbar for manually adjusting the relative position of the spacing members successively within the limits of travel permitted by the links in either direction.

9. In a mechanical movement the combination of a tubular support, a slideway machine therein, a plurality of spacing members mounted in series for longitudinal travel within the support, .each comprising a pair of flat plates closely fitting the bore of said tubular support but readily movable therein anda transverse shaft uniting said plates, links connecting adjacent shafts in pairs having lengthened openings embracing the shafts to allow limited relative movement of the shafts within such links longitudinally of the support, one terminal member of the series being rigidly united to the support, and the opposite terminal member having means united to it for manually adjusting the relative position of the spacing members successively within the limits of travel permitted by the links in either direction.

HARRY J. CRINER. 

